Sugar Cone
by Nataku2
Summary: YugoxKenji FLUFF Shonen ai gift fic for Zeda. Yugo and Kenji go to the fair, reminescense and old reflections.


Title: Sugar Cone

Author: Nataku

Rating:  PG-13

Genre: WAFF (warm and fuzzy feeling), Romance

Pairing: Yugo/Kenji

Warning: Shonen ai. Sweet kissy kissy between two males.

Author's Note: Yugo/Kenji fluff for Zeda! XD  Short little thing ^^; Hm…

Sugar Cone

"Kenji!" 

My eyes fluttered slightly, groaning against the insistent hand shaking my shoulder. It was large and warm…callous skin brushing against my bare shoulder.

"Wake up you lazy bum!"

That loud familiar voice roused the sleep from my mind, slowly dissipating it as the final strands of blissful unconsciousness slipped through my fingers.

"Yugo…" I groaned, eyes squinting against the light pouring through the windows, far too early for a Sunday morning. Honestly. A large, vibrant grin had split his handsome face, teeth white against the dark tan of his skin, giving him an air of robust youth and hard working vigor. It was as if he was incapable of deception…incapable of hiding any of his emotions on that scarred face of his, unlike the red-eyed clone that had nearly killed us all. 

But broken bones and bruises mended…some scars faded with time and all was well. Peaceful. Tranquil. Lovely… 

It was almost like a normal life. 

I was beginning to understand the wise man's words…of why Singh Long had wanted peace so much that he was willing to die for it. There was such a pleasant feeling the anonymity of being normal; of being allowed to walk down the street and not worry that you would be dragged into a life and death situation with the life of the one you loved as a forfeit if you loosed…or in some cases your very own sanity.

My eyes rested on Yugo; my guardian my savior. 

In vague memories of a burning hell…I remembered him. Strong and open, without a single shadow haunting those golden eyes. That was perhaps what amazed me the most about him, not just the strength in his gentle hands. He was untainted in such a way it was almost as if he were the child instead of myself. 

"Hey stop spacing out! C'mon we don't hurry we'll never make it." He grabbed my slender wrist and yanked me out of bed, not heeding the spitted protests falling half-heartedly from my lips. I knew by now that it was useless. Once the wolf got an idea in his head…not even Armageddon could convince him to back down or turn away.

My eyes softened a little.

Once he decided to love someone…his heart was bigger than anyone's I knew. Yugo would be teased and called an idiot, but he was simply too loving and ready to believe the good in others. That's all…he didn't believe that people could be all bad. He had a faith that seemed to be dead in the world these days. 

"Oi, Kenji, something on your mind little man?" I blinked at the muscular arm that set around my shoulders and looking at the honestly sincere face. Ah…here was a man who's loyalty was unshakeable.

"Nothing…now what was so important that you have to drag me out on a Sunday morning?"

He blinked, head cocking like a confused pup and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

"Baka! Don't you know the fair's in town today?!" he whooped and gave me a healthy slap on the back that almost sent my slighter frame sprawling. That earned him a sharp glare.

"Mah, mah!" his hands raised in a silent surrender and he used the most lethal weapon known to man or beast, the puppy eyes.

"…"

They just got cuter.

"…ALRIGHT!" my hands flung in exasperation. "I'm not angry, alright?! Happy?!"

There was the momentary pause, then his face broke into a big happy smile again. It was almost too much…really. I sighed, and smiled back at him. All aggravations put aside…he really was a wonderful man that I loved with all my heart.

"C'mon, won my last match and I'll getcha' an ice cream or something." Arm firmly locked around my shoulders; the boxer dragged me with the bullheaded determination that would have drilled through mountains. At times…it could be a frightening force of destruction. 

"Alright." I truly did love him. "…if it makes your male ego grow any larger…"

I was cut off as his arm wrapped around my neck and his large fist fiercely, yet carefully ground into my skull with punishing precision.

"YAMETTE!"

He laughed as he continued the assault, my hair even more hopelessly ruffled than it was before. Struggling, I sigh mentally. Such were the sacrifices you made to love the wolf… My eyes look upon the laughing scarred face. But in the end…it was all worth it. Just to see that smile, to hear that laugh, it was worth going through the blazing inferno again and again. A noogie seemed such a small and insignificant price to pay.

"Is something on my face?"

He looked at me in inquisitive gold eyes, looking confounded as to why I was staring at him, peering closely…since when did he get so close?!

"I…I…"

The stuttering that came from my mouth was far from the eloquent, scathing reply I had originally planned.

"Well, if ya ain't got nuttin to say, then let's get a move on!"

His face shone with exuberance as he grabbed my arm and started dragging me again. I felt strangely numb, face red as he tossed me onto his beloved motorcycle and hopped on, revving the engine and tearing off with a whoop. I hated his driving…! The wind tore at my face and made my eyes water, my arms coming around his strong torso automatically and clinging for dear life. Every time he wove the Harley through another lane…I always expected to see the headlights of a 4 x 4 or some semi-truck. So I resorted to burying my face in his powerful back, trying to blot out the image and just prayed to God the ride would be over soon.

"…You can let me go now, Kenji, we're here."

He had a cheeky grin on his scarred face as he looked down at me from over his shoulder, straddling the bike and chuckling softly.

"Ya gotta loosen up a lil, kiddo. The ride's half the fun in life."

An eyebrow ticked and I felt my eyes narrow. However sweet and innocent he might be…there were times when I wanted to clock him across the jaw.

"Aw!!! Don't get mad at me like that! I didn't mean to freak you out." He pleaded, instantly knowing when I got cross at him. His eyes warped themselves into the aggravating puppy expression, begging for forgiveness. The damn wolf even hopped off the Harley and crouched before me, pawing at my leg and whimpered.

What can a man do at a time like this?

"Fine…just stop that whining, you look ridiculous."

My hand moved through his semi-coarse brown hair, petting and scratching behind his ear with a slight smile. So I had gone a little soft…no big deal, right?

The night went by in a blur of ridiculous and tender moments…like when he won me a teddy bear in the shooting arena and then slipped on a banana peel and fell flat on his backside on the carousel, myself laughing from my perch on one of those elegantly painted horses. True to his word…he pampered me, buying me cotton candy and popcorn and sweets that he loved to indulge in, sneaking bites when he thought I wasn't looking.

We stopped by the mirror house…and somehow it seemed off to me…the only part of the fair with no laughing children. The building seemed…grotesque and eerie, almost leering at everyone that passed by with its empty glass eyes and red letters the color of fresh blood. It sent shivers up my spine…

"Cool!!! Let's go!" my eyes widen as Yugo latched onto me again and dragged me toward the mirror house. Idiot! Can't he feel it through his thick muscle brained head?!

The inside wasn't much better than the exterior, cobwebs, whether fake or real…it didn't matter, hung draping from every must twist and turn of the glass labyrinth. Mirrors…so many mirrors looked back, each reflection getting more and more atrophied. There were bloody claw marks along some of them…I couldn't smell the blood…but some made me wonder. There was the scent of stale alcohol and clove cigarettes and the decay of dead rats.

"Wow, they really over did themselves here!"

I looked to my companion and he had such a goofy grin on his head, making faces in one of the mirrors and morphing himself just enough so he had his ears and claws and fangs.

"Hey look Kenji, I'm wolf man!!!" he howled, then laughed while making more fearsome faces.

"What are you doing here?"

Quite suddenly, a haunted face appeared next to Yugo's, the glinting of pale lights off glass hiding the eyes for a moment. My companion whirled around, features becoming human again as his fists rose.

"You're looking in the wrong direction." That voice…it sounded so familiar. Faintly condescending, but not in a mean way, the type of condescending that comes from knowing too much…knowing so much that every sigh was a creak of weariness from your mind. Then slowly a figure stepped forward.

Singh Long…as I always remembered him. There was a grave, jaded look in his eyes, unfathomable brown depths like wells into emptiness. His face, neither old nor young, just looked weary, that of a man with his own demons to battle. The martial artist's body was swathed in dark robes, cuffs glinting as he pushed the glasses back up his face, hiding his eyes again. 

"Long!!! Haven't seen you in ages ol buddy!" 

I blinked at Yugo. He and the older man never had the most…friendly of relationships, grudging respect and camaraderie out of necessity was all that I placed on him. Speaking of which…why was the Chinese man in a mirror house of all places?

"Yugo. Kenji." He bowed curtly, ever the gentleman.  "This isn't the place for people like you." His voice was soft and I looked to Yugo in confusion…he knew even less than me.

"What…do you mean?"

The martial artist made a grand, sweeping gesture with his hand. "This place…it's a house of despair and broken dreams…not a place for the both of you." To my shock, he offered us a small, sad smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. In all the time that we've known him…he has never smiled. Ever. I looked again to Yugo and he had a look of baffled bewilderment…he knew this man longer than I have, having fought with him when Long was the top assassin of Tylon.

"Yo Long…you're confusin me, man. What are you doin here? Thought you'd be in a park practicing Kung Fu or something…"

"That…is not important." The smile lingered, turning a little wistful as he looked at us. After a long second, he turned away, walking off. "You should go to the Ferris wheel…the view is spectacular at night." 

"Wait, Long!!!"

Like a ghost or a memory…the man was gone. His soft voice of reason faded in the reflecting corridors of the mirror house…just gone, as if he were never here but for the gentle scent of incense and tea.

"…that was weird." 

I saw the perplexed look on Yugo's face, then smiled. I had slain my demons…I just hoped the scholar could bury his.

"Come on, Yugo, the Ferris wheel sounds like a good idea now that I think about it…"

His golden eyes lingered down the path that the martial artist had taken, dark brows furrowing before he blinked, and turned to look at me. Instantly his features softened and he smiled, reaching out and pulling me closer with his arm. Leaning down, he brushed a gentle kiss to my lips, my eyes fluttering closed and pressing back.

"That does sound nice, Kenji. I'll buy you an ice cream before we go though."

Together we walked out of that mirror house. He seemed a little quieter, a little more subdued after the encounter with our old comrade, pensive almost as he bought me a sugar cone. As I took the first lick, I don't think I've ever remembered anything tasting so sweet before…

Owari


End file.
